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Denver rejects proposed downtown zoning changes
By JAMES McGINNIS
Ephrata Review
Published: May 15, 2008 11:22 AM EST
DENVER - Denver Borough Council rejected a proposed new zoning ordinance after a
number of residents raised objections to changes that it would have made
involving use of downtown businesses.
The council voted 4-2 to
defeat the ordinance, which was drafted as part of an effort to encourage
more businesses to move into the borough's downtown. The ordinance would
have preserved most of the borough's commercial, industrial and low-density
and high-density residential districts, but would also have created a new
"village residential" district that would have applied to homes and
apartments in the downtown. A second new designation, "institutional,"
would have included schools, libraries and other education-related
facilities.
Although the council had originally hoped to pass the
ordinance, most members changed their minds after the owners of several
downtown businesses voiced objections to a provision that would have
prohibited properties that housed failed businesses from being converted to
residential use. It would not have affected existing residential
properties.
Council member Danny Rabold said that he personally
favored the ordinance, but chose to vote against it after failing to
convince several opponents who attended the Monday, April 30 meeting that
it would benefit them.
"If the people you are trying to help are
dead-set against it, there is no point of passing it," Rabold said. "You
count the number of people who attended the last meeting, and you will see
that the majority of business owners in this town are against
this."
One of the most vocal opponents was Beverly Moyer, owner of
Country Hair Studio, located on 322 Main St.. Moyer said that she supported
the borough's recent efforts to revitalize the downtown, but said that she
opposed the ordinance because it did not allow alternate uses for
businesses that fail. "When a person is looking to start a new business,
they want a safety net to fall back on," she said. "If I want to start a
new business, do you think I want to risk being stuck with an unusable
property?"
Moyer also voiced skepticism that higher gas prices will
lead more people to shop locally, and claimed that unnamed studies show
that consumers can save as much as $2,500 at one-stop shopping outlets such
as Wal-Mart. She also pointed out that the borough recently chose to close
its farmer's market due to a lack of interest from both vendors and
residents.
One business owner who supported the ordinance was
Janette Keyler, who runs The Key Antiques, located on 340 Main St. She
disagreed with Moyer's claim that high fuel prices would benefit larger
retail outlets and said that the ordinance would ensure that the borough's
current revitalization efforts would succeed.
"I know these efforts
have been made before and have failed," Keyler said. "As a business owner,
I am completely for this ordinance and hope others will support
it."
Council members Rodney Redcay and Cynthia Hebert cast
dissenting votes in favor of the ordinance. Redcay said that the ordinance
could be amended in the future to address concerns by opponents, while
Hebert said that the council should not vote down an important piece of
legislation to please a vocal minority.
"This ordinance is not just
for the business owners," she said. "This is for everyone. Are you trying
to please a few people, or do what is best for the town?"
Mayor Mary
Ann Fichthorn also came out in favor of the ordinance. "If I was voting, I
would do so in favor of this," she said. "We have a lot of senior citizens
who would enjoy being able to walk to local businesses."
The
council's decision to vote it down means that the public hearing process
will have to begin again, and it is unlikely that a revised draft could be
ready for a vote before October at the earliest.
Hession added
that the council will continue its efforts to revitalize the
downtown.
"The borough will continue to encourage more commercial
uses and implement our downtown vision strategy," he said.
He
pointed out that the borough has received $400,000 in grants from numerous
sources for its revitalization efforts over the past five years.
Improvements made to date include the installation of new sidewalks with
planters and hanging decorative banners on Main Street, both of which were
done during PennDOT's reconstruction of the thoroughfare last year, and
making room for more off-street parking. The borough also plans to install
new, decorative street lights on Main Street later this year.
"These
are all steps in the right direction," Hession said. "We want to see a
thriving downtown community."
In other business, officials also
voiced concerns about children and teenagers failing to obey the borough's
ordinance requiring the use of helmets at the town's skatepark.
Both
Redcay and Fichthorn said that they had seen users of the park continuing
to disobey the ordinance despite being reminded several times by the
police. Fichthorn added that the police have also confiscated skateboards
from repeat violators.
Redcay suggested that the borough close the
skatepark for a weekend if the violations continue. Both officials urged
residents to call the police of they see people using the park without
helmets.
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